Toxicator
{{Short description|Suspended top spin ride at Alton Towers, England}}
{{Infobox attraction
|name=Toxicator
|image=Toxicator with theming barrel.jpg
|caption=
|location=Alton Towers
|section=Forbidden Valley
|status=Operating
|opened=15 March 2025
|previousattraction=Ripsaw
|location_virtual_queue_name=Fastrack|location_virtual_queue_image=AltonTowersFastTrack.svg|location_virtual_queue_status=available|location_single_rider=available|type=Flat ride
|manufacturer=HUSS Park Attractions
|model=Top Spin
|height_ft=78
|restriction_cm=140-195
|capacity=500
|riders_per_vehicle=38
|rows=2
|riders_per_row=19
|custom_label_1=Slogan|custom_value_1="Submit to the Spin"}}
Toxicator is a top spin ride at Alton Towers in Staffordshire, England. It opened on 15 March 2025.
It was the first top spin to be built in the UK since Ripsaw in 1997, raised on a {{cvt|16|ft}} platform elevated above a pathway.
History
In February 2024, Alton Towers submitted a planning application for a new {{cvt|60|ft}} tall ride in the Forbidden Valley, codenamed 'Project Ocean', on the site previously occupied by Funk ānā Fly (originally occupied by Ripsaw).{{Cite web |last=Parker |first=Hayley |last2=Ashdown |first2=Kerry |date=2024-02-15 |title=Alton Towers unveils secretive plans for new towering 60ft attraction |url=https://www.stokesentinel.co.uk/news/stoke-on-trent-news/alton-towers-unveils-secretive-plans-9099647 |access-date=2024-06-05 |website=Stoke on Trent Live |language=en}} Planning permission was approved in April 2024,{{Cite web |title=Project Ocean Plans Approved New Flat Ride Coming Soon |website=Theme Park Guide |url=https://themeparkguide.co.uk/news-page/Project-Ocean-Plans-Approved-New-Flat-Ride-Coming-Soon |access-date=2024-06-05 }} and construction began in May 2024.{{Cite web |title=Project Ocean Construction Works Begins |website=Theme Park Guide |url=https://themeparkguide.co.uk/news-page/Project-Ocean-Construction-Works-Begins |access-date=2024-06-05 }} The ride opened on 15 March 2025.{{Cite web |author=Lewis |date=2025-02-21 |title=Toxicator to open on 15th March at Alton Towers Resort |url=https://www.towerstimes.co.uk/news/2025/02/21/toxicator-to-open-on-15th-march-at-alton-towers-resort/ |access-date=2025-02-28 |website=TowersTimes }}
Ride experience
The ride is located above a pathway connecting Galactica to the rest of Forbidden Valley. It features green-illuminated fountains that interact with the ride.{{Cite news |date=2024-05-15 |title=Project Ocean: Construction Continues On New Permanent Flat Ride At Alton Towers, A Top Spin Is Expected! {{!}} Theme Park Tourist |url=https://www.themeparktourist.com/news/20240515/33848/project-ocean-construction-continues-new-permanent-flat-ride-alton-towers-top |archive-url=http://web.archive.org/web/20240530074416/https://www.themeparktourist.com/news/20240515/33848/project-ocean-construction-continues-new-permanent-flat-ride-alton-towers-top |archive-date=2024-05-30 |access-date=2025-02-28 |work=Theme Park Tourist }} The gondola has a maximum height of 78ft, due to a 16ft elevated platform.{{cite web |author=Lewis |url=https://www.towerstimes.co.uk/news/2025/03/14/toxicator-spins-into-alton-towers-resort-for-2025/ |title=Toxicator spins into Alton Towers Resort for 2025 |website=TowersTimes |date=2025-03-14 }} It is a suspended top spin ride (guests' legs dangle rather than resting on a floor) manufactured by Huss.
Theme
Alton Towers characterise the ride as the mechanism by which the 'Phalanx' extract saliva from the Nemesis creature using extreme centrifugal forces. The barrels alongside the queue and silos alongside the ride supposedly store Waspirium, the highly corrosive substance extracted from the creature's saliva, which is also represented by the green fountains. The tunnel underneath the platform in which the ride is elevated contains many posters with references to other former and current attractions at the theme park, including Ripsaw.
Incidents
During Toxicator's public opening day, a sewer drain under the ride overflowed spilling untreated waste water into the area requiring the area near the ride entrance to be evacuated and the ride to be closed down for approximately 2 hours and 45 minutes.{{cite news |first=Hannah |last=Al-Othman |url=https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2025/mar/16/alton-towers-new-toxic-waste-themed-ride-briefly-closes-due-to-sewage-leak-toxicator |title=Alton Towers' new toxic waste-themed ride briefly closes due to sewage leak |newspaper=The Guardian |date=2025-03-16 }}{{Cite web |title=Toxicator at Alton Towers queue times |url=https://queue-times.com/parks/1/rides/14475?given_date=2025-03-15#day |access-date=2025-03-17 |website=queue-times.com}}
References
{{reflist}}
{{Alton Towers}}